The True Heir
by xtubbyx
Summary: What if Rhaegal stayed with Jon. How much would change.
1. Chapter 1

**Because Rhaegal deserved so much better.**

**Chapter One**

He was getting used to the cold, since bonding with his rider it had actually got easier. He'd moved from the nest he had been sharing with his brother on the hill to a more sheltered one closer to the two legs home. They had gotten used to him being so close even though they gave him a wide birth, especially since his injuries had made him as cranky and bad tempered as his brother could be.

He'd just woken from a nap, which was what he'd spent the last two days doing trying to heal, when his mother walked towards him with her hand outstretched, stepping over the charred bones of the meals his mothers men had brought him. He bowed his head down to her level and let her place her hand on his muzzle even though his skin seemed to crawl at the contact. Wrong, the contact was wrong. He retreated shaking his head to dispel the feeling but it only got worse when he felt her will pressing against his mind. 'Fly' she told him 'It is time to return home'.

Taking a running start he launched himself into the air feeling the ache of his damaged wing send a shot of pain through his shoulder but he pushed through it. He felt the air rushing through the hole in his wing rather than gliding along it and he wobbled in the air before he titled it and steadied himself. With an other beat of his wings he was gaining altitude, flying towards the strange structure the two legs spend most of their time. He could feel his mothers satisfaction over what was left of there bond but she was not who he wanted to see him in the air again. As he circled the area he felt his riders presence coming from the wooded part inside the walls, flying low he gave a call as he passed over where his rider was standing in front of the large tree. He saw him look up to admire him as he passed and he preened at the attention before flying back towards his nest. Drogon and Mother sweeping down in front of him diverted him from his intention to land and he followed as they flew south. He could hear the sound of a small group of the two legs on the ground following at a much slower pace.

They'd flew most of the morning, flying ahead of the small group before returning when it became clear to him that his rider wasn't following on the ground. It was when his brother landed to let his mother of his back that he made the decision to continue heading back the way he'd come. He heard both his mother and brother call out to him but he ignored them and continued North, following the pull of his rider. His wing was burning now but he pushed through the pain determined to make it back before it finally gave up. Flying low over a tall mountain the bond flared from a candle flare to dragon fire, telling him that he was close and in the distance the tall structure came into view.

Sweeping over the building he let loose a joyful cry telling his rider he had returned before heading back to his nest, his wing almost giving out in relief as he lands. He's hungry now, having pushed himself with a singular focus to return he hadn't thought to hunt, but now his wing was sore and he was too tired to bother. He reached out to pick up a charred bone to gnaw on and take his mind of the hunger when he felt his rider approaching. He thrilled in joy as he entered his line of sight and stretched his neck out towards him. As he walked towards him he took the strange things that smelt a bit like cow of his hands and set them bare onto his snout. Humming in pleasure he let his rider feel his pain and hunger and from the tightening of his jaw and the scent of his ager he understood. His rider looked behind him and he saw that the large white animal that followed his rider around was there, but not for long as with a look from his rider it was taking of towards the woods.

Content with his riders presence Rhaegal lay his head down on the ground, folding his wings in around him and drifted of to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hope you all enjoy. **

**Chapter two**

The peace and quite of the Godswood was what he needed after having to play peace keeper between two stubborn woman. He may have been supportive while in the meeting with everyone else, but when he got her alone Jon let Daenerys know that he wouldn't be pushing his men on a hard march. He agreed with Sansa to a point, his men where tired and needed rest and the Iron throne wasn't going anywhere. That Daenerys wanted to rush things along showed Jon that for all the battles that she'd won she'd never actually had to think strategy through properly. The fear of a dragon descending on armies did most of the work of chasing away the morale of most men for her. To send a tired army into battle was just asking for casualties.

His head and his heart where at war with one another. The voice In his head that sounded suspiciously like his father/ Uncle was telling him that it was wrong to want his Aunt the way he did but his heart didn't seem to care. Any time he thought of never seeing her again, or worse seeing her with someone else caused him great pain. So he'd been avoiding her, trying to come to term with everything. He'd hoped telling his sisters would have helped him figure it out but it seemed to have made it worse as all Sansa could see was his now greater claim to the bloody Iron Throne.

He could see the effect the whole campaign for the throne was having on Daenerys and the death of her son and Ser Jorah had taken its toll on the Dragon Queen. Her temper was hanging on by a thread and Cersei was mad enough to poke the angry dragon and he worried about the innocents that where going to be caught in the middle of the two Queens. The last thing he wanted her to worry about was his claim to a Throne he'd rather see destroyed.

A cry from one of the dragons above broke him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see the green form of Rhaegal passing overhead. He could swear he felt his joy at being in the air again. It had been two days since the battle and Jon was amazed at how quickly the dragons could heal. Drogon who had received various slashes to his hide on his back and legs was almost completely healed along with the wounds on Rhaegal's chest. It was his wing that was taking the longest. The big gaping hole in his left wing and the obvious pain he was in left Jon feeling guilty for having had to pit him against his undead brother. Rhaegal was leaving for Dragonstone now with his mother and brother while Jon gathered the armies together and readied them to leave the next day for a long march south. With a screech and a flap of his wings Rhaegal headed away from Winterfell back towards where he'd made a new nest between Winterfell and the Wolfs wood.

By the time Jon was ready to leave the Godswood the calls of the dragons where gone, replaced by the sound of an army preparing to move out. As he was making his way across the courtyard Ghost fell in beside him. The Direwolf was still black with soot and mud and Jon had already had to clean out the various scrapes and cuts he'd received in the battle but he'd become his constant companion again since the battle. Jon suspected he was slightly jealous of him going into battle with Rhaegal rather than him. He checked in with the stables to make sure all the horses where fit and healthy for the journey south before heading to the wagons of supplies to make sure all where being loaded. He caught sight of Arya hovering around the forges and had to stop himself from going over when he saw the look Gendry throw her way. She's a big girl he told himself, and would not appreciate him interfering.

Once he could think of nothing else to check on he headed toward the training yard with the thought of getting in a bit of practice. Stepping through the archway into the yard he spotted Sansa standing on the ramparts seemly lost in thought as she watched the horizon where the men that where traveling to White Harbour with Daenerys had disappeared some time ago. A majority of the Unsullied and the Dothraki where left in Winterfell to travel south with the Northern Army. Approaching his sister he hoped she wouldn't press him to claim the Throne again. He really couldn't understand what her issue with Daenerys was. In fact out of his two sisters he thought she was the one that would of been able to relate the most with the Dragon Queen. About to open his mouth he was interrupted when he felt something not unlike his connection with Ghost flare to life at the back of his mind which was then followed by a screech in the distance. Looking up he spotted Rhaegal sweeping down through the clouds heading for Winterfell. Jon waited for the form of his larger brother to appear but was surprised when no large black dragon appeared.

A louder call from Rhaegal as he swept over Winterfell brought Jon's attention back to him and he almost felt as though his left arm was burning the closer the dragon got to him. He watched the Dragon drift of the his nesting sight and couldn't help but notice that he seemed to favour his left wing as he touched down on the ground. Glancing to his side he could see that Sansa was also watching the green dragon and he couldn't hep but mutter out load "He's sore" while unconsciously shaking his left arm. Without an other word he descended the stairs and made his way towards the main gate and out towards Rhaegal. He vaguely heard various guards call out to him but they didn't stop him as he felt Ghost brush up against him. Together they made it across the short distance to the hill Rhaegal had made his home and as they started up it he spotted the dragon pick up one of the many bones that littered the ground. Silently telling Ghost to stay back, he didn't want his wolf to end up as lunch, he slipped his gloves of his hand and approached the green dragon. Rhaegal meet his hand half way, seeming to purr as soon as his hand made contact with his snout. What ever connection he'd felt niggling to life whenever the dragon flew overhead flared to life at his contact and he felt all that the dragon did. His joy at finally having a rider to properly bond with, the pain of his wing from having to use it for such a long period of time too soon and his hunger from not having eaten in his determination to return to Jon.

Clenching his jaw in anger he resisted the urge to shake his left arm again knowing now that it was a phantom pain from Rhaegal. Knowing only rest would fix that problem he set his mind to helping fix the problem of his hunger. With a thought and a look to Ghost the Direwolf was taking of to the woods to see if he could track down a snack for the large dragon. Jon felt Rhaegal withdraw his head from his hand and seemed to shuffle around on the ground until Jon realized his was laying himself down. Head resting in the scorched ground the green dragon closed it's ember eyes and seemed to drift of to sleep. Jon took the chance then to have a look at his wing which was curled up against his body. The whole in the wing that had been healing was now spotted with fresh blood where the wing had torn again make it look raw and frayed. Jon suspected he would need at least an other two days to get it back to what it had been this morning and suspected the same thing would happen if he was asked to fly on the wing again after that amount of time.

Listening to the deep breaths of the green dragon Jon suspected he would need at least four days to heal enough that he could fly for extended periods of time without ripping the wound apart again. Deciding to take a chance Jon settled own on the ground against Rhaegal's neck and the dragon seemed to unconsciously curl his neck and head around him while bringing his wing forward over Jon's head, effectively trapping him against the dragon. With his hot breath blowing into the enclosed space under his wing Jon soon found himself getting sleepy and soon drifted of to sleep against his dragon.


End file.
